Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the end of the workweek. It’s also the final Friday in July, which means we’re nearing the end of summer — we hope you’ve all been able to book some time off ahead of the fall season.

We have another packed issue for you this morning, with a major acquisition from renewables giant Masdar, which has bought a c.50% stake in a Spanish renewables firm, leading the news well. We also have news of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority looking to offload a USD 400 mn stake in an Indian investment firm, and a deluge of fresh earnings. Plus: we have news that silver and platinum exports to India are falling.

UAE duty-free silver and platinum exports to India halted: India has terminated its duty-free imports of silver and platinum from the UAE, following a reduction in import taxes to below the tax agreed between the countries under their economic partnership agreement, Reuters reports, citing Indian government officials.

The Indian government has slashed import duties on gold and silver from 15% to 6%. With the duty now lower than the 8% tax under the economic agreement with the UAE, “nobody is importing silver,” Prithviraj Kothari, president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association told Reuters.

In context: The UAE accounts for nearly half of India’s silver imports, as importers made use of the lower 8% tax, with shipments surging from 133 tonnes to almost 2k tonnes over the first five months of 2024.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font will land in the UAE next Monday in his first ever visit to the country, Wam reports. Font is set to meet with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss potential areas of cooperation including the economic, commercial, and development sectors.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-

#1- Residential communities in Dubai are getting “silent radars” to catch traffic violations, Khaleej Times cites a top official as saying, without clarifying when they will be rolled out. The radars will detect speeding and other violations like illegal u-turns, mobile phone usage, and failure to wear seat belts.

#2- A fire at Al Dhaid Sharia Market in Sharjah early yesterday destroyed dozens of small shops, Gulf News reports. The business owners affected will receive alternative premises within three days and financial compensation, Wam reports. The new stores will be fully-furnished and air-conditioned.

The emirate will also construct a new concrete market with over 60 stores to replace the previous market, which featured 16 shops made of palm leaves and wood.

WEATHER- We have another hot and sunny day in Dubai with a peak of 42°C, and an overnight low of 36°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, the mercury is set to hit 38°C before cooling to 36°C in the evening.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Ewec launches tender for battery storage project: Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for eligible developers to submit their bids to develop, finance, operate, and maintain a 400 MW greenfield battery storage system power project in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement. The RFP is open to the 27 bidding firms and consortiums that passed Ewec’s expression of interest stage last April, with bids due by 4Q 2024.

The details: The project will provide 800 MWh of storage capacity, and will offer ancillary services, including frequency response and voltage regulation. The project is set to boost the emirate’s solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to 7.5 GW by 2030 and reduce carbon intensity to an estimated 190 kg/MWh by 2030, down from 330 kg/MWh in 2019.

#2- The UAE’s GDP is projected to expand at a 3.9% clip in 2024, accelerating to 6.2% in 2025, buoyed by growth in tourism, real estate, and trade, as well as an increase in capital spending, according to the Arab Monetary Fund’s (AMF) Arab Economic Outlook report (pdf).

This is in line with other pundits’ forecasts: The World Bank and the Central Bank of the UAE also see the economy growing 3.9% this year.

The regional outlook: The AMF sees Arab economies growing 2.8% in 2024, and expanding further at a 4.5% clip in 2025, supported by lower interest rates, controlled inflation, and stable high oil prices. Arab oil exporters in particular are expected to benefit from higher energy prices, driving their economies to grow at 3.7% in 2024 and 5.1% in 2025.

#3- Sukuk issuances are set to fall in the summer months before picking up in 4Q 2024 as governments continue to pursue diversified funding for projects and look to plug budget deficits, Fitch Ratings said in a report. Lower interest rates towards the end of the year and lower oil prices could also boost issuances in the final quarter.

REMEMBER- Sukuk and bond issuances by GCC countries grew 38% y-o-y to USD 75.5 bn in 1H 2024, with Saudi Arabia leading the pack with almost half of the total issuances. The UAE came second with a 27% share of issuances, raising USD 20.6 bn in 64 transactions. Global outstanding sukuk grew 10.2% yoy to about USD 888 bn at the end of 1H 2024, Fitch says.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a mixed bag of macro, AI, and politics in the foreign press today, with updates on the US’ economy and the latest tech rout, OpenAI unveiling its new search engine, and more news from US presidential hopeful Kamala Harris’ campaign.

#1- The US’ economy grew 2.8% in 2Q 2024 in the latest sign that the Federal Reserve has succeeded in on track to achieve a “Goldilocks” scenario, with inflation down but consumer demand still growing. (FT | WSJ | WaPo | The Guardian)

#2- OpenAI said it’s testing out its AI-powered Google rival and search engine prototype SearchGPT in a blog post. The service will be rolled out to just 10k test users for now, according to The Verge. If you want to be one of them, you can sign up for the waitlist here.

#3- Wall Street extended its rout yesterday with persistent sell-offs in Big Tech and a shift towards small-cap stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 0.9% yesterday, while the S&O 500 closed down 0.5%.

THE LATEST IN POLITICS- Harris’ stance on Israel’s war in Gaza is in the limelight as another poll — the New York Times/Siena College poll — puts Trump narrowly in the lead as she secures more votes than her predecessor Joe Biden. Here is everything you need to know:

  • Harris says she pushed for a ceasefire in her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, saying she will “not be silent” about the humanitarian crisis the war had caused. (Bloomberg)
  • Trump could be pushing away key voters with attacks on Harris that can be seen as sexist and racist, Bloomberg reports, as he looks to pivot his campaign after Biden’s withdrawal.

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